I like birds. What can I say?

All birds were recorded by me in the United States' beautiful Pacific Northwest state of Washington.

Avian Voices

Olive-Sided Flycatcher, Contopus cooperi, famous for being the bird that orders, "Quick! Three beers!" Proof that even stodgy old birders know how to party. This song sequence was captured with a parabolic, processed clean for sound effects' use while maintaining natural rhythm and pace

Learn more at All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Olive-sided_Flycatcher

Image Credit: "570 - OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER (5-8-2020) guindani trail, whetstone mts, cochise co, az -02" by Sloalan is marked under CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/cc0/1.0/

Northwest Birds

Olive-Sided Flycatcher

Brewer's Sparrow, Spizella breweri, is a highly abundant Sagebrush steppe bird of North America, yet it's more likely heard than seen. Tiny and well-matched for hiding the bunches it calls home, they are just as comfortable clambering through Sagebrush like rodents as they are fluttering from one low bush to another. I had my first encounter with in a high subalpine Sagebrush meadow in the Okanogan Mountains last week.

Their mirthful, playful, bubbling voices are a joy and a delight to encounter. The song seems to tumble uncontrollably out of their mouths as they teeter back-and-forth on the swaying tips of sage stalks or other thin vegetation. In fact, the sheer effort of the song seems to prevent them from sitting still, and their heads twist and turn with every phrase. 

This performance is actually several male Brewer's Sparrows singing or counter-singing to one another. I've clean-processed the recording for clarity as there was some swing-distortion and multiple distances involved, but the integrity of the performances are left as-is. 

The idea of cleaning and processing birdsong is controversial in some circles as it "removes the bird from the environment it sings in". I agree with that sentiment, but I also record lots of soundscapes which showcase just that voice-environment relationship. I want to highlight the song itself and present it as clearly and intelligibly as possible while still maintaining the integrity of the bird's voice itself. Consider this a love note to the bird's voice, not the bushes and meadows.

Also, I sell and use sound effects. Sound designers in a hurry much more prefer something they can drop-in and use than anything they'll need to clean themselves. Oh yeah, feel free to message directly in SoundCloud or click on one of my too-many social media buttons to contact me if you'd like to learn more. Happy Listening!

Read more about Brewer's Sparrows at All About Birds:
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brewers_Sparrow/

image credit: "873 - BREWER'S SPARROW (11-8-2018) socorro co, nm -08" by Sloalan is marked with CC0 1.0

Brewer's Sparrow Performance

The Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii, looks as most Tyrant Flycatchers do: challenging, daring you to identify it. The Tyrant Flycatchers all bear a striking resemblance to one another, with some species being almost impossible to discern until they open their beaks to sing. Their buzzy, sharp, staccato syllables are as key to correctly identifying one as the bright patterns and colorations on more vibrant birds.
Unlike most songbirds, Flycatchers don't learn their songs from their parents, but are born knowing it. Willow Flycatchers play a key role in testing this as researchers raised chicks from hatchling hearing only the songs of other Flycatchers, yet as they matured they knew and sang the Willow Flycatcher fitz-pew as if they'd never heard anything else.

Read more about Willow Flycatchers at All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Willow_Flycatcher/

If you'd like to hear more or license bird sounds for your project, feel free to message me directly in SoundCloud or click on one of my too-many social media buttons. Happy Listening!

Image Credit "578 - WILLOW FLYCATCHER (6-4-08) carrizo, saucito ranch lower spring, carrizo plain nat mon, slo co, ca" by Sloalan is marked with CC0 1.0

Willow Flycatcher

I don't often share the process I go through in prepping bird recordings for licensing and presentation, so I thought I'd share an A-B demonstration. In rapid-fire succession here are a number of Willow Flycatcher song clips, each immediately followed by the original.

The Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii, looks as most Tyrant Flycatchers do: challenging, daring you to identify it. The Tyrant Flycatchers all bear a striking resemblance to one another, with some species being almost impossible to discern until they open their beaks to sing. Their buzzy, sharp, staccato syllables are as key to correctly identifying one as the bright patterns and colorations on more vibrant birds.

Unlike most songbirds, Flycatchers don't learn their songs from their parents, but are born knowing it. Willow Flycatchers play a key role in testing this as researchers raised chicks from hatchling hearing only the songs of other Flycatchers, yet as they matured they knew and sang the Willow Flycatcher fitz-pew as if they'd never heard anything else.


Read more about Willow Flycatchers at All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Willow_Flycatcher/

The idea of cleaning and processing birdsong is controversial in some circles as it "removes the bird from the environment it sings in". I agree with that sentiment, but I also record lots of soundscapes which showcase just that voice-environment relationship. I want to highlight the song itself and present it as clearly and intelligibly as possible while still maintaining the integrity of the bird's voice itself. Also, I sell and use sound effects. Sound designers in a hurry much more prefer something they can drop-in and use than anything they'll need to clean themselves.

If you'd like to hear more or license bird sounds for your project, feel free to message me directly in SoundCloud or click on one of my too-many social media buttons. Happy Listening!

Image Credit "578 - WILLOW FLYCATCHER (6-4-08) carrizo, saucito ranch lower spring, carrizo plain nat mon, slo co, ca" by Sloalan is marked with CC0 1.0

Willow Flycatcher Cleaning

If you've ever been in a Northern forest and thought you heard some tiny creature maniacally laughing at you, chances are it was the Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa. A hardy yet tiny bird, the Golden-crown Kinglet is found throughout the boreal forest of North America. I happened to record this little fellow on the Olympic Peninsula where they are resident in June of 2021.

This is a clean-processed recording. All background sound and noise has been carefully removed in an effort to focus on the bird's voice. 

Read more about Golden-crowned Kinglets at All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Golden-crowned_Kinglet

If you'd like to hear more or license bird sounds for your project, feel free to message me directly in SoundCloud or click on one of my too-many social media buttons. Happy Listening!

image credit: "707 - GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET (6-2-2015) franklin co, maine -01" by Sloalan is marked with CC0 1.0

Golden-crowned Kinglet

A tiny little bird with an outsized voice, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, is a bird of the Northern forests. Fearless defenders of their nests, males have been known to chase away Canada Jay mobs raiding for egg meals. The bird in this recording was putting on a continual arial display while I sat eating my lunch. Perched out on a fir limb around 20 feet up, it would sing and promptly flit out around 4-5 feet. After a few somersaults and maybe a hover it would return to the perch (or another nearby) and repeat. I say it did this while I ate my lunch... that just happens to be when I recorded it. It began its display during dawn while I slept nearby in a tent and continued with hardly a break through dusk.

I've been posting clean-processed recordings lately, with an eye towards celebrating the birds' voices. I chose to leave this one un-mastered, "raw" save for removing mic bumps and me coughing, just to show how quiet the location is. Adjust your volume until the Kinglet is at a comfortable listening level. That's what it was like.

Read more about Ruby-crowned Kinglets at All About Birds: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet

If you'd like to hear more or license bird sounds for your project, feel free to message me directly in SoundCloud or click on one of my too-many social media buttons. Happy Listening!

Image credit: "708 - RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (2)" by Sloalan is marked with CC0 1.0

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Using the Serge Dual Active Pro Plus in the FIRST AID for some ringing sounds and timbres: 1st ACPR+ is used as a ring modulator (well, kind of, with 3 input signals!), the 2nd one as a VCA. SINE waves come from a Dual PCO and an NTO, a CARNIVORE is in the driver seat, steering 2 SEQ8.

Serge First Aid - RINGING

Cervus elaphus hispanicus refers to the red deer of Portugal and Spain. It's slightly smaller than those across the Pyrenees.
The rutting season (referred to as 'brama' in Portugal) starts mid-August and goes until the end of September. 
The recording was in an area in interior Alentejo where wild boars and white-tailed deer live in big numbers and all can be heard throughout this segment.

Red deer call in the valley

Red Deer call in the valley

Premiered by Riot Ensemble and Tyler Bouque. Conducted by Aaron Holloway-Nahum.
Commissioned by the Gaudeamus Foundation.

For Baritone, Soprano, Bass Clarinet, Trombone, Double Bass, and Percussion
no processing or fixed media (in the traditional sense)

consumed; teeth shut (2022)for Baritone, Soprano, Bass Clarinet, Trombone, Double Bass, & Percussion

Listening in a very quiet environment, or at a very quiet time, preferably with good quality headphones, at no more than a moderate volume, is very much recommended. These sounds of late summer dawn in Mallee country were widely dispersed. The original recording level was 60 dB, with a further 12 dB gain in post. Listening at a low to moderate volume will more faithfully re-present the original soundscape experience. Please refer to the Playlist description for some background information: https://soundcloud.com/hearingbeings/sets/2023-02-19-quiet-dawn-of-souls-mallee-country-late-summer.

At first light, the dawn songs of Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters predominate, gracing the early dawn soundscape with a beautiful yet melancholy quality. Also occasional Owlet Nightjar calls (which have continued all through the night), Grey Butcherbirds, a couple of Emu 'drummings', some distant Ravens, amongst others; and, in the distance, briefly, a couple of strays that ought not to have been there at all.  Throughout, the sound of the wind rising and falling, through Mallee woodland of Eucalyptus and Casuarina trees.

Recorded respectfully on the land of the Meru and Danggali peoples.

@bandcamp

2023.02.19 Quiet Dawn of Souls (First Light)

Fomando parte de:
https://earsheltering.bandcamp.com/album/3pr-iii-11ses
@earsheltering

--
SONIDO POSTAL - CONFLUENCE
De forma artificial, el audio toma forma de collage progresivo, donde la mezcla de grabaciones de campo comienzan en entornos naturales, con sonidos que representan esa espacialidad, poco a poco va mutando hacia sonidos en los cuales los humanos tienen alguna participación más directa, dilucidando de a poco un sonido más urbano, hasta terminar en el ruido de la ciudad, que refleja más la parte industrial de la misma.
Confluencia retrata una mínima posibilidad de las diferencias y similitudes que pueden contener estos entornos, pudiendo ser apreciados a través del sonido y la representación visual imaginativa, ya sea del lago o el mar, hasta la ciudad.
El audio es una recolección de grabaciones de campo realizadas en diferentes lugares de Argentina, realizado por Damián Alférez:
- Playa acantilados, Mar del plata (sonidos de piedras y el mar).
- Laguna de los Padres, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires (sonidos del agua, cotorras, gente, insectos).
- Chapadmalal, Buenos Aires (sonidos de ranas y perros).
- Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires ( sonido de gotas de agua en un departamento).
- Puerto Madryn, Chubut (sonidos de la calle, llamadores de ángeles, skates).
- Centro de la ciudad de Mar del Plata (sonidos de vehículos, ventiladores, interferencias).
- José Marmol, Buenos Aires (sonidos de vehículos, y vendedor de chatarra)

Confluence

Balade sonore le long du fleuve Rhône depuis sa source dans le glacier éponyme, jusqu'à son delta. Cette œuvre est une commande de l'association IC-EAU/ ID-EAU pour la Foire du Valais 2023 en Suisse, sur la thématique de l'eau.

Portrait sonore de l'entité vivante du fleuve Rhône. Toutes les prises de son ont été effectués dans et autour du fleuve.

UNE VOIX PARCOURT LE RHÔNE

LES MÉTAMORPHOSES DE RHÔNE

Here is a track I should have posted last year.  It is an experimental recording I made near Dalsvallan (Near Sveg) Sweden.  I had the new Lewitt 440 Pure microphones and I wanted to see how far I could push the gain before noise became noticeable as they have a noise level of 7db.  The sound of the breeze in the treetops somewhat masks the mic/amp noise, however the gain on the MixPre3 was at the very high level of 74db, still the quality is really good.  Where I recorded this is nearer the mountain than in the picture but will give you an idea of what the area was like.  You might just make out a house just below the middle of the picture, this is the area where I stayed for three weeks.  Recording 3986.

Forest atmosphere & wind - 7th of May 2023 at 4.51pm, Dalsvallan

This LP by the outstanding classical Hindustani vocalist Mallikarjun Mansur of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana, featuring his intense and sensual melodious flights, is available for Flac and MP3 download on my blog:
https://music-republic-world-traditional.blogspot.com/2024/04/india-inde-mallikarjun-mansur-sings.html

Mallikarjun Mansur Sings Rare & complex ragas

Anorexorcist 5124

T'au

Field Recordist / Sound designer
Shhhhh. Listening to nature.

To license sounds or for all other inquiries: info@andymartinsound.com

#naturesound #naturesoundscape #fieldrecording #naturesounds #savequiet #listentonature #soundscape

Olive-Sided Flycatcher

Andy Martin, Field Recordist

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